WELFARE – HEALTH
MENTAL HEALTH DURING LOCKDOWN
One Family ’ s Experience by Bdr Andrews – HQ ARRC , Joint Effects , JFIB
Up until recently the main contributors to mental health problems in society was anxiety , depression , bipolar disorder , schizophrenia and stress . However , there is now a new stressor emerging , COVID-19 and all the issues associated .
COVID-19 has obvious impact to physical health , but the mental health impact of this pandemic will perhaps only be felt in the longer term across all age-ranges and across all the social classes . Already the Office for National Statistics has seen an increase of 16 % of adults showing signs of depression . From 2019 to 2020 they found that the percentage of 16 – 39-yearolds with depression issues has risen from 10.9 % to 31 %, while 40- to 69-yearolds has increased from 10.4 % to 13 %.
As the pandemic continues the demand on mental health services is increasing . Bereavement , isolation , loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones .
Who you gonna call ?
Call 999
Call 999 in a medical emergency . This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk .
Call 111
Call NHS 111 if you have an urgent medical problem and you ’ re not sure what to do . The service is available 24 hours a day , 7 days a week .
Advice ASAP
Advice ASAP ( App , Search , Ask , Pharmacy ) is available at www . asapglos . nhs . uk and also downloadable as an app . It is used to search for local health services , such as a pharmacy , or to search by medical condition .
Substance abuse , insomnia and anxiety are some of the side effects people are facing , during this difficult time . Many people have never experienced or dealt with this before , and struggle to manage them .
We have come to the conclusion that we are doing the best we can and we are certain that the rest of the population are feeling the same
Many members of our Armed Forces are finding that juggling home schooling , childcare , working from home , social needs and the needs of their children are causing increased stress and anxiety levels . Myself and my partner Natalie can confirm that , as we have been juggling all the above , with Natalie particularly feeling the pressures more than usual with the closure of the usual entertainment to occupy young bodies and minds . As a result , we have learned a great deal about our own , each other ’ s and our twins ’ mental health needs . There have been times where we have got it right and times where we have got it wrong . We have come to the conclusion that we are doing the best we can and we are certain that the rest of the population are feeling the same , and doing the best given the situation during this difficult and unsure time and we should be rightly proud of ourselves and our children .
As a member of HQ ARRC Targets Team , I and the whole team have been working tirelessly to continue to deliver the normal output of work . I am a new arrival , having been posted in during this third lockdown , but everyone has made an amazing effort to make me feel welcome and part of the
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team during this difficult time . However , it has been difficult not having completed a day in the office , despite being posted in January and I felt under pressure that I wasn ’ t doing enough . After some research , into ways to help with lock down stress , I decided to take on a charity challenge to raise money for The Mental Health Foundation - the ‘ London Underground Challenge ’.
The challenge consisted of walking , running , cycling or rowing the combined length of the 11 main lines of the London underground . This is a total distance of a whopping 402km . I decided to take on the challenge , by rowing the distance . I used the idea of there being 11 lines to give me a time frame of 11 days to complete the challenge . This meant that I had to row a distance of 36.54km a day for 11 days straight .
I am happy to say I made it through the challenge in the time frame I set myself . At first it was taking me over 3 hours to row the daily distance but with a little bit of advice and coaching via WhatsApp I managed to get it under 3 hours a day consistently from about day 4 onwards . I managed to complete the challenge in a total time of 34 hours 2 minutes 36 seconds raising over £ 400 for the charity .
I couldn ’ t have completed the challenge without support of my wife Natalie , my Crossfit Coach , the messages / donations I received and the words of encouragement from my new work team . The Mental Health Foundation sent me a message of their appreciation of my help during this difficult time . They assured me the donations would be put to good use paying for the critical support they provide to individuals and families across the country . This includes community and peer programmes , research , public engagements and advocacy . To find out more go to : www . mentalhealth . org . uk .
Alongside me doing the challenge to raise awareness , the Targets Team was doing their part to maintain their own and their family ’ s mental wellbeing . Some have downloaded a great App called Headspace and with their families are trying something new . I started along with other work colleagues doing yoga with Natalie , after the children have gone to bed as a way of winding down after a potentially difficult day . In the near future as a team , we will hopefully be setting up a quiz night over Zoom or just a general Zoom get together in order to keep moral high , introduce ourselves to the team and allow the new members to put faces to names .
On behalf of the Targets team , we all hope you are coping well during this lockdown , keeping mentally and physically fit and above all staying safe .
If you feel unwell , or have a request for the practice there are 3 ways to start an eConsult : download the NHS App ( England only ), use the practice finder at www . econsult . net or visit your practice website .
26 SPRING 2021 the imjin Imjin Station Community